(COLUMBUS, Ohio) March 2015 – From elite athletes to weekend warriors, more than 250,000 Achilles tendon injuries occur every year in the United States, according to The Bone & Joint Journal. Despite the fact that the Achilles is the strongest and thickest connective tissue in the body, it’s also one of the most vulnerable to injury. That is why Dr. Timothy Miller, a sports medicine expert at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, has developed a new surgical technique to repair torn Achilles tendons.
“We’re constantly looking for new and better ways to do surgery, make it safer, make it faster, make it more efficient and minimize the risk of complications,” said Miller. “Given how strong the repair is and the minimal risk of return, or minimal risk of re-tear, I think it will potentially become the gold standard for repair techniques.”
The new procedure strengthens the injury by moving suture knots away from the injury site, unlike the old method which brought together knots at the tear site. This technique avoids healing issues and could soon change how all Achilles repairs are done.
